#THE REVENUE RECOVERY ACT, 1890 
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##ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1. Title and extent. 

2. Definitions. 

3. Recovery of public demands by enforcement of processes in other districts than those in which 
they become payable. 

4. Remedy available to person denying liability to pay amount recovered under last foregoing section. 

5. Recovery by Collectors of sums recoverable as arrears of revenue by other public officers or by 
local authorities. 

6. Property liable to sale under this Act. 

7. Saving of local laws relating to revenue. 

8. Recovery in India of certain public demands arising beyond India. 

9. Recovery in India of land revenues’ etc., accruing in Burma. 

10. Duty of Collectors to remit moneys collected in certain cases. 

THE SCHEDULE.



#THE REVENUE RECOVERY ACT, 1890 

##ACT NO. 1 OF 1890 [^1]

[14th February, 1890.] 

An Act to make better provision for recovering certain public demands. 

WHEREAS it is expedient to make better provision for recovering certain public demands; It is hereby 
enacted as follows:— 

1. **Title and extent.**—(1) This Act may be called the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890.

(2) It extends to the whole of India except [^2]the State of Jammu and Kashmir;

2. **Definitions.**—In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context,— 

(1) “district” includes a presidency-town; 

(2) “Collector” means the chief officer in charge of the land-revenue administration of a district; 
and 

(3) “defaulter” means a person from whom an arrear of land-revenue, or a sum recoverable as an 
arrear of land-revenue, is due, and includes a person who is responsible as surety for the payment of 
any such arrear or sum. 

3. **Recovery of public demands by enforcement of processes  in  other  districts  than  those  in 
which they become payable.**—(1) Where an arrear of land-revenue, or a sum recoverable as an arrear of 
land-revenue, is payable to a Collector by a defaulter being or having property in a district other than that 
in which the arrear accrued or the sum is payable, the Collector may send to the Collector of that other 
district a certificate in the form as nearly as may be of the Schedule, stating— 

(a) the name of the defaulter and such other particulars as may be necessary for his identification, 
and 

(b) the amount payable by him and the account on which it is due. 

(2) The  certificate  shall  be  signed  by  the  Collector  making  it  6[or  by  any  officer  to  whom  such 
Collector may, by order in writing, delegate this duty], and, save as otherwise provided by this Act, shall 
be conclusive proof of the matters therein stated. 

(3) The  Collector  of  the  other  district  shall,  on  receiving  the  certificate,  proceed  to  recover  the 
amount stated therein as if it were an arrear of land-revenue which had accrued in his own district. 



[^1].  This  Act  has  been  modified  in  its  application  to  the  Benares  Family  Domains,  see  s.15  of  the  Benares  Family  Domains 
Act, 1904 (U.P. Act 3 of 1904). 

The Act has been extended to Goa, Daman and Diu with modifications by Reg. 12 of 1962, s. 3 and the Schedule, extended 
to and brought into force in Dadra and Nagar Haveli by Reg. 6 of 1963, s. 2 and the First Schedule (w.e.f. 1-7-1965), to the 
Union  territory  of  Lakshadweep  by  Reg.  8  of  1965,  s.  3  and  the  Schedule  (w.e.f.  1-10-1967)  and  to  the  Union  territory  of 
Pondicherry by Act 26 of 1968, s. 3 and the Schedule. 

The Act has been amended in Assam by the Assam Act 16 of 1971.

[^2].  Now  applicable  to  the  Union  territory  of  Jammu  and  Kashmir  and  the  Union  territory  of  Ladakh  by  the  Notification  of  
Government of India, M/o Home Affairs vide No. S.O. 3912 (E), dated 30th October, 2019 (w.e.f. 31-10-2019).



##STATE AMENDMENTS 

**Assam**

**Insertion of new section.**—After Section 3 of the principal Act, the following shall be inserted as 
section 3A, namely:— 

**“3A.—Certificate  Officers  to  perform  the  functions  of  Collector  in  respect  of  certificates 
received.**—Notwithstanding  anything  to  the  contrary  contained  in  this  Act,  when  any  certificate  is 
received under this Act, by the Collector of a District, any certificate officer in the district may exercise 
all the powers and perform all the duties and functions of such Collector under this Act, in respect of such 
certificate.

*Explanation*—In  this  section  ‘Certificate  Officer’  has  the  same  meaning  as  in  the  Bengal  Public 
Demands Recovery Act, 1913 (Bengal Act III of 1913).” 

[Vide Assam Act 16 of 1971, s. 2.] 

4. **Remedy available to person denying liability to pay amount recovered under last foregoing 
section.**—(1)  When  proceedings  are  taken  against  a  person  under  the  last  foregoing  section  for  the 
recovery of an amount stated in a certificate, that person may, if he denies his liability to pay the amount 
or any part thereof and pays the same under protest made in writing at the time of payment and signed by 
him or his agent, institute a suit for the repayment of the amount or the part thereof so paid.

(2) A suit under sub-section (1) must be instituted in a Civil Court having jurisdiction in the local area 
in which the office of the Collector who made the certificate is situate, and the suit shall be determined in 
accordance with the law in force at the place where the arrear accrued or the liability for the payment of 
the sum arose. 

(3) In the suit the plaintiff may, notwithstanding anything in the last foregoing section, but subject to 
the law in force at the place aforesaid, give evidence with respect to any matter stated in the certificate. 

(4) This section shall apply if under this Act as in force as part of the law of Pakistan or Burma, 
or  under  any  other  similar  Act  forming  part  of  the  law  of Pakistan or Burma,  proceedings  are  taken 
against a person in Pakistan or Burma, as the case may be, for the recovery of an amount stated in a 
certificate made by a Collector in any State to which this Act extends.

5. **Recovery by Collectors of sums recoverable as arrears of revenue by other public officers or 
by local authorities.**—Where any sum is recoverable as an arrear ,of land-Revenue of any public officer 
other than a Collector or by local authority, the Collector of the district in which the office of that officer 
or authority is situate shall, on the request of the officer or authority, proceed to recover the sum as if it 
were an arrear of land-revenue which had accrued in his own district, and may send a certificate of the 
amount to be recovered to the Collector of another district under the foregoing provisions of this Act, as if 
the sum were payable to himself.

6. **Property liable to sale under this Act.**—(1) When the Collector of a district receives a certificate 
under  this  Act,  he  may  issue  a  proclamation  prohibiting  the  transfer  or  charging  of  any  immovable 
property belonging to the defaulter in the district. 

(2) The  Collector  may  at  any  time,  by  order  in  writing,  withdraw  the  proclamation,  and  it  shall  be 
deemed  to  be  withdrawn  when  either  the  amount  stated  in  the  certificate  has  been  recovered  or  the 
property has been sold for the recovery of that amount. 

(3) Any private alienation of the property or of any interest of the defaulter therein, whether by sale, 
gift, mortgage or otherwise, made after the issue of the proclamation and before the withdrawal thereof, 
shall  be  void  as against the Government and  any  person  who  may  purchase  the  property  at  a  sale 
held for the recovery of the amount stated in the certificate. 

(4) Subject to the foregoing provisions of this section, when proceedings are taken against any 
immovable property under this Act for the recovery of an amount stated in a certificate, the interest of the 
defaulter  alone  therein  shall  be  so  proceeded against, and no incumbrances created, grants made or 
contracts entered into by him in good faith shall be rendered invalid by reason only of proceedings being 
taken against those interests.

(5) A proclamation under this section shall be made by beat of drum or other customary method and 
by the posting of a copy thereof on a conspicuous place in or near the property to which it relates. 

7. **Saving of local laws relating to revenue.**—Nothing in the foregoing sections shall be construed— 

(a) to impair  any  security  provided by,  or  affect the provisions  of,  any  other  enactment for the 
time  being  in  force  for  the  recovery  of  land-revenue  or  of  sums  recoverable  as  arrears  of  land-
revenue, or 

(b) to authorise the arrest of any person for the recovery of any tax payable to the corporation, 
commissioner,  committee, board,  council  or  person  having  authority  over  a  municipality  under  any 
enactment for the time being in force. 

8. **Recovery in India of certain public demands arising beyond India.**—When this Act has been 
applied to any local area which is under the administration of the Central Government but which 
is not part of India, an arrear of land-revenue accruing in that local area, or a sum recoverable as 
an arrear of land-revenue and payable to a Collector or other public officer or to a local authority in that 
local area, may be recovered under this Act in India.

9. **Recovery in India of land revenues, etc., accruing in Burma.**—(1) The Central Government 
may direct9 that an arrear of land-revenue accruing in Burma or a sum recoverable in Burma as an arrear 
of land-revenue and payable to a Collector or other public officer or to a local authority in Burma may be 
recovered under this Act in India and thereupon such arrear or sum shall be so recoverable: 

Provided that the Central Government shall not give any such direction unless it is satisfied that the 
remedy available under section 4 of this Act in India to a person paying under protest in India 
an arrear accruing in India is available under Burma law in Burma to a person paying under protest 
in India an arrear accruing in Burma.

(2) For  recovering  by  virtue  of  this  section  any  arrears  of  tax,  penalty  due  under  the  enactments 
relating to income-tax or super-tax in force in Burma, the Collector shall have such additional powers as 
he has in the case of Indian income-tax and super-tax under the proviso to section 46(2) of the Income-tax 
Act, 1922 (11 of 1922). 

(3) Sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply in relation to Pakistan as they apply in relation to Burma.

10. **Duty of Collectors to remit moneys collected in certain cases.**—Where a Collector receives a 
certificate under this Act from, a Collector of another State or a Collector in Pakistan or Burma,  he 
shall remit any sum recovered by  him  by  virtue  of that certificate to that  Collector,  after  deducting  his 
expenses in connection with the matter.



#THE SCHEDULE 

##CERTIFICATE 

[See section 3, sub-section (1)] 

From 

The Collector of  

To 

The Collector of  

Dated the of 18 

The  sum  of  Rs.  is  payable  on  account  of  by,  son  of,  resident  of,  who  is  believed  (to  be  at)  (to  have 
property consisting of at) in your district. 

Subject to the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890, the said sum is recoverable by you as if 
it were an arrear of land-revenue which had accrued in your own district, and you are hereby desired so to 
recover it and to remit it to my office at 



A.B., 

Collector of 

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